Finding Blood (City Underdark #1)

The Witch

Opening the window of his room revealed that there was a way up the roof, probably if he expended a little bit of his precious blood to cover for the physical effort. This discovery made him like his room even more, even if he wished he didn't have to think of escape routes in the first place.

Ah, well, at least the situation could be worse, he told himself. He didn't want to imagine what sort of situation might be worse than this one, he would believe common sense this time. Besides, after he had taken a long nap to hopefully wash away some of the exhaustion and hunger of his trip, the evening was approaching. Soon, he would have to get out in the streets to see what there was to see.

He was glad at least that he could leave his hat and gloves behind. They had belonged to him when he was alive, meaning that they were utterly out of fashion. Maybe he would have the time to have some new ones made for him while he was here and had a bit of spare money. At least the rest of his clothes were a bit more timeless; he wouldn't be standing out too much when roaming the streets at night.

He met the gaze of the hostess when he passed through the main room downstairs. She seemed about to tell him something. He never knew if it was for another pointless warning about the streets at night or to ask him if he wanted some of the leftovers from dinner: before she could say a single thing, he had turned around and walked out in the street, leaving the safety of the inn behind.

There was somewhere he needed to go.

The night was his domain, and it felt wonderful to be immersed in it once more. The light of the moon illuminated the darkness the same way the sun did, but wouldn't offer him much in complete darkness. Rather, it was his nose and his ears that contributed the most to his finding of prey. And it didn't take him long when back in his natural habitat that he could do with a snack. Indeed, the more he thought of it, the more the taste of blood tugged at him, distracting him from his destination.

He fought it, of course, quietly cursing the burning hollowness in his stomach, until he caught a sign of life in an alley ahead. He perked up, focusing all of his attention on the heartbeat lying in wait. A single human, apparently, that didn't move despite the fact that their heart was beating loud and clear. Alone? His fangs almost popped out of Barmond's gums when the answer revealed itself to be yes.

It would only take five minutes, he told himself. He would be a fool if he let such an occasion pass him.

Of course, there was a catch. Barmond realized it the moment he turned into the alleyway and noticed how dark the place was. Even to his sharp, cat-like eyes, he had trouble seeing the man, half-hidden as he was by a doorway. However, the man had no trouble seeing him coming from the larger street with the moon in his back, and he was ready for it.

This was an ambush.

When the man first pounced on him and Barmond caught a flash on the blade he held, the vampire became persuaded that he had walked straight in Ranphoros' arms, or rather the arms of one of his goons. One hand shot to grab the other's wrist and the other to his neck, with the intention of tearing it out. But the moment he was met with skin and flesh - without the biting shock of an anti-vampire magic - Barmond realized that he had it all wrong. This was just a desperate man.

A man that was no match for Barmond.

He escaped death in extremis but the vampire's fingers still dug in quite nastily in his throat. He grunted, his weapon hand trapped in a hold he couldn't escape. Barmond used blood to slam him into a shutter, that banged against the wall behind it. The noise didn't hamper the vampire's frenzy. The moment he realized that nothing laid between him and a full vein, his fangs had deployed and his hunger had increased tenfold.